Cinema's Best

Without further ado, I present to you my rankings (as of October 17th, 2009).

#1

12th grade had begun and our AP English teacher handed us each a sheet of paper with the standard questions, one being what our favorite film was. Said it'd show us how, by years end, we'd changed. What didn't change, however, was my answer to the aforementioned question: Donnie Darko.

Having only seen the film once, I'd become worried that its hold on the top spot in my rankings on Flickchart could be attributed to mere nostalgia. But those worrisome thoughts were silenced by my second viewing. Because, see, Donnie Darko is a film that does not so much do one thing extremely well, but rather has many things going for it, not the least of which is its cast. And I mean the entire cast when I say that. Few films feel as authentic and sincere as Donnie Darko and its cast plays a major role in that.

#2

How I regret all that time I avoided Pan's Labyrinth, now. It is a film without par. Never has a film so seamlessly blended reality and fantasy.

However, my ignorance was a blessing, you could say. Expectations? I had none. Especially not the unrealistic expectation that it'd be pure fantasy, as trailers lead some to believe. Pan's Labyrinth is a film that cannot be watered down for the purpose of any sort of advertisement.

Even my initial thought as the credits rolled - "Best fairy-tale/fantasy film of all time" - could be misleading to the uninitiated and, at the same time, do not do the film justice.

#3

Misled by the media? Can't be. But it is. How the media glanced over the numerous star-turns of the sober RDJ prior to Iron Man could not be more beyond me. And how Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang, in particular, flew relatively under the radar is simply confounding.

Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang only disappoints when you discover it to be Shane Black's directorial debut and he seems perfectly content with letting his directorial career also end there.

And here, RDJ shames his own performance in Iron Man, his comedic timing on even better display.

Fans of RDJ and/or film noirs, here is a film for you.

#4

Without an Aussie named Steve, I wouldn't've understood the draw of Joseph Gordon Levitt prior to seeing this film.

That said, (500) Days of Summer shamed every romcom that had the misfortune of coming before it. And that is no senseless hyperbole, nor is it merely the result of an obsession with Zooey Deschanel (and Steve's catching JGL obsession).

What sets (500) Days of Summer apart is that it is not, as is explicitly stated in the trailers, a love story and its quirky, non-linear manner of telling this non-love-story.

Feel as if I've said so little, but that if what I did say hasn't sold you on the film, you're not going to be.

#5

Gave into the hype machine, not even having seen Batman Begins or being all too familiar with Nolan, and was not the least bit disappointed.

Put it this way. If The Dark Knight had nothing outside of The Joker, as so many seem to adamantly argue, it'd rank similarly high on my list. Ledger's Joker not only heads my list of movie villains, but my list of individual performances as well. With the role, Ledger took method acting to such heights that sensationalist stories of it sending him teetering over the brink could be seen as having shreds of credence.

And some of the other issues the detractors bring up, I find to be non-issues. Take the occasional disorienting action sequence, for example. How I see it is that the manner in which these sequences were shot quite reflect how disorienting they'd be, in all reality.

All in all, The Dark Knight stands as the best superhero film of all time and a memorial to one of the best actors of our generation.

#6

Wall-E is only an animated film by classification. Comparisons were not drawn to 2001: A Space Odyssey for shits and giggles.

No other Pixar film can boast the same amount of depth as Wall-E. Pixar's balancing act between children and adults has never been on greater display, as well. Wall-E has the Pixar charm in spades and, as a counterbalance, it stands as a particularly relevant satire with a surprisingly broad focus.

More impressive yet is the fact that Pixar managed all of this with a film relatively absent of dialogue. Wall-E says all of three words in the span of the film: Wall-E, Eve, and directive. Leave it to Pixar to make a, more or less, mute robot into the most lovable of all of its characters.

#7

Above all else, let this sink in: Sharlto Copley is said to have improvised all of his lines. Not that District 9 took this spot based entirely on that. That couldn't be farther from the truth.

Call it too explicit if you want, but District 9 is a dazzling commentary on apartheid told through the unlikeliest of means. Anymore, it's refreshing to see a film in the science fiction genre - overrun by middling, shallow films - tackling such themes.

Neil Blomkamp's directorial debut boasts a strong cast, social commentary, dazzling special effects, and there's even some humor interspersed throughout.

Blomkamp, I eagerly await your next project.

#8

The Shawshank Redemption straddles the line between human emotions like so few movies. It is, all at once, somber, inspiring and humorous, and that is no small feat.

From Tim Robbins to James Whitmore, the cast is without fault. Morgan Freeman provides his quintessential narration. And memorable scenes, The Shawshank Redemption is not lacking in.

#9

The Green Mile is no less of a film for being beaten out by The Shawshank Redemption. Quite the contrary, in fact. No matter what movie just so happened to win this particular match-up, it did so by a margin that is the slimmest of slim.

One area that The Green Mile does have a clear edge in is its cast. Tom Hanks, David Morse, Michael Clark Duncan, James Cromwell, Michael Jeter, Doug Hutchison, Sam Rockwell, and Patricia Clarkson, to name a few. Of all the movies I've seen, I've not come across a better ensemble cast.

And the fact that the decision between these two films is so hotly contested says as much about the partnership of Frank Darabont and Stephen King as it does about the quality of the two films.

#10

In terms of pure comedies, Monty Python and the Holy Grail is as without peer as Pan's Labyrinth is in terms of fantasy films.

I'd be hard pressed to name a film that is in the same stratosphere as Monty Python and the Holy Grail in the area of quotable scenes or laughs per minute.

More could be said, but I sincerely doubt this happens to be a film I need to sell to anyone.

#11. Fight Club

#12. 12 Monkeys

#13. Being John Malkovich

#14. Serenity

#15. Shaun of the Dead

#16. Juno

#17. 3:10 to Yuma

#18. Dear Zachary: A Letter to a Son About His Father

#19. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind

#20. One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest

#21. Amelie

#22. Trick ‘r Treat

#23. The Brothers Bloom

#24. MirrorMask

#25. In the Loop

#26. Toy Story

#27. The Prestige

#28. Iron Man

#29. Toy Story 2

#30. Shrek 2

#31. Stardust

#32. Hot Fuzz

#33. Zombieland

#34. The King of Comedy

#35. A Beautiful Mind

#36. Seven

#37. Children of Men

#38. The Wrestler

#39. Man on Wire

#40. Slumdog Millionaire

#41. Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory

#42. A Clockwork Orange

#43. The Shining

#44. Watchmen

#45. Robin Hood: Men in Tights

#46. Memento

#47. Batman Begins

#48. A Christmas Story

#49. The Simpsons Movie

#50. Princess Mononoke

#51. Shrek

#52. Sin City

#53. Finding Nemo

#54. Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl

#55. American History X

#56. 21 Grams

#57. Sweeney Todd

#58. The Departed

#59. Dark City

#60. The Usual Suspects

#61. The Proposition

#62. The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy

#63. American Beauty

#64. Doubt

#65. Brokeback Mountain

#66. The Priness Bride

#67. Knocked Up

#68. Stranger than Fiction

#69. This Is Spinal Tap

#70. The Hangover

#70. Up

#72. The Machinist

#73. Requiem for a Dream

#74. Monty Python and the Life of Brian

#75. Punch-Drunk Love

#76. The Fountain

#77. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince

#78. Office Space

#79. Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me

#80. Spaceballs

#81. The Truamn Show

#82. Back to the Future Part II

#83. Grizzly Man

#84. In Bruges

#85. Candy

#86. Cashback

#87. Stand By Me

#88. Spirited Away

#89. Men in Black

#90. Ratatouille

#91. Spider-Man

#92. The Pianist

#93. Frost/Nixon

#94. Milk

#95. The Godfather

#96. The Lookout

#97. One Hour Photo

#98. The Hurt Locker

#99. Rachel Getting Married

#100. Adaptation

Cinema's Worst will come tomorrow.